The Photography Club is in danger of shutting down?! And the Cinema Club too?! Fret not, for they shall merge and become… Cinephoto Club! Now club members Satsuki, An, and Sakurako are asked to be the main characters for manga artist Haruno’s latest work that’s centered around action cameras. The girls head out to capture the lovely sights of Japan, experimenting with gadgets beyond photography and film equipment, and of course, chomping on the local delicacies along the way! [from MAL]
Like with other adaptations of Afro-sensei’s work (Yuru Camp), mono is filled with more excursions around Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu, and Shizuoka prefectures. The focus here is on the city of Kofu, which is Yamanashi Prefecture’s capital.
Many callbacks are made to Yuru Camp. Yuru Camp characters, especially Nadeshiko and Rin, show up in some background shots and play cameo roles in ways that can subtly effect the plot, but never speak to mono‘s core cast directly, in a way that kind of feels like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. The peak of this interplay occurs when the manga author character Haruno is called on to conduct a seichijunrei excursion to locations from an up-and-coming manga series, which ends up being very clearly Yuru Camp based on visits to Lake Motosu and other iconic spots.
The anime’s official website includes maps for each episode which highlight a few, but not all, of the locations featured. It seems like the intent of these maps is to highlight a certain region for each episode rather than holistically pinpointing every shot, probably with the underlying intention of highlighting business partner type locations. For example, the map for Episode 11 focused on the kakigori locations, with fairly imprecise descriptions and hard-to-judge pinpoints.
There is an official mono-themed digital stamp rally in Kofu with 8 locations. The stamp rally will be held from July 19 to August 18 2025. All of the stamp spots are roughly walking distance from Kofu Station. For whatever reason, none of the locations shown actually show up in the anime. The reward for completing the stamp rally is an A5-sized clear file. I have highlighted the locations on my map with orange pins to set them apart from locations from the anime.
Four restaurants in the Kofu area will be selling mono-related goods for a limited time. These are mapped with blue pins. A list showing which collaborations are active is being kept updated on the dedicated page. For the most part, these seem to be regular menu items with chibi character illustrations dye-printed onto them. At the time of writing, at least one menu item is still being served at each establishment.
In a scheme that sounds straight out of Sakura Quest, mono superfans can also participate in tie-in workshop experiences highlighting some of Yamanashi’s traditional handcrafts. These activities include making washi paper, roll cakes, letterpress printing, and making mono themed leather keychains. Since this is such a niche and detailed opportunity, it’s probably best to go directly to the source for dates and additional information if you’re seriously considering it.
Mono also has a bus wrap collaboration. These buses are operated by Yamanashi Kotsu Co.,Ltd. An unveiling was held on July 21 2025. There are no official promo shots from the unveiling, but I was able to find some photos on Twitter/X. Yahoo News has a story up on the unveiling from local affiliate station YBS.
The MV for the anime’s opening theme was shot on location in Kofu with a trio of voice actors and shows off various local spots like Kofu Castle. It uses some fisheye lens shots similar to those taken by the cinephoto club. The MV for the ending by halca was also shot in Kofu.